The Pity Card (2006) User Reviews

Possibly in bad taste, but clever

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 18 November 2008]

This short film is about a Jewish guy who uses his family's tragic past during the Holocaust to impress a girl. She is a pretty but rather vacuous blonde and on their first date, he actually takes her to a Holocaust museum. Later, when they coincidentally meet at a party, she's REALLY into discussing the Holocaust because she apparently NEVER heard about it before! So, on one hand, she's saddened by learning about this slaughter and on the other, he just wants to score. This is an amazingly tacky story idea, though not as bad or potentially offensive as the episode of "Seinfeld" where Jerry makes out with his date during a screening of SCHINDLER'S LIST. I don't know if this sort of humor offends most people, though it sure skirts the edges and the film takes a big risk. Usually topics like cancer, pedophilia and the Holocaust are comedy killers of the first order, though I did like the film mildly. Some of the dialog was excellent (especially by Zach Galifianakis and the strange guy he meets at the party) but the overall film left me a bit cold--not bad, but also wondering if I should be laughing at this. What do you think?

Where to Find It

[brent-blazek · 9/10 · 18 May 2007]

This is a fantastic example of deadpan humor. Although a pilot for a television show, it feels more like a short film. The concept is somewhat absurd. The main actor is Jewish, and comes to realize that if necessary, he has a "Pity Card", the Holocaust, to play whenever he is trying to get with a girl. Zach Galifianakis' role is the best part.

The only way I know of seeing The Pity Card is on Wholphin II. Wholphin is a quarterly publication of short films which would otherwise be unavailable. It is published by McSweeney's and distributed through Publisher's Group West. You're more likely to find it in bookstores, than movie stores.

I managed to see this

[Brad_Dharma · 10/10 · 8 June 2006]

I was in the kitchen of the office where I work, and for some reason two people who worked in the same building were screening it. I figured it was some sort of pilot for HBO. It was shot digitally and concerned two guys who were discussing a date one of the guys had been on. Since it had been raining, he took his date to the Holocaust Museum and made her very depressed. She had never heard of the Holocaust and was devastated. I wasn't surprised to see Bob's name at the end of it, because it was very much his brand of humor. It was really funny and I would recommend it if you get a chance to see it. I assume it is playing in film festivals at the moment.